


Star Destroyers: Accepting Disapproval

by TranscendentalSpaceGem



Series: Star Destroyers [5]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, F/M, Meeting the Parents, Moving In Together, Parent-Child Relationship, Parental Disapproval, Rock Star AU, Standing up to Parents, parental approval
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:49:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27689177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TranscendentalSpaceGem/pseuds/TranscendentalSpaceGem
Summary: Steven and Connie's first weekend in their new home doesn't go exactly the way either of them expects it to. A pair of guests they aren't prepared for stop in and bring up a familiar challenge in their relationship.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Doug Maheswaran, Connie Maheswaran & Priyanka Maheswaran, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Doug Maheswaran & Steven Universe, Doug Maheswaran/Priyanka Maheswaran
Series: Star Destroyers [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933939
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	Star Destroyers: Accepting Disapproval

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic is a song by the emo bad You'll Live. It's a tiny band but Star Destroyers had to start small too, right? Anyway, enjoy the fic. This takes place a few months after Star Destroyers: United Kingdom.

There are certain milestones that come in most relationships. Steven and Connie had hit many in their time together. However few of those had gone the way anyone would expect. So Connie couldn’t blame Steven for wanting them moving into their first home to be as normal as possible.

It wasn't that Steven cared about them being an unconventional couple. It was that most of the time, the way they went about things had brought them unnecessary amounts of stress and numerous complications. While everything he had experienced with his girlfriend made for good music and good stories, that didn't make the desire for simplicity go away.

For Connie, Steven represented the adventures she never took part in as a child but for Steven, Connie represented a normalcy that he had been denied for his whole life. It was a balance and she could try to give him this one thing.

"Wait a minute," Steven said as he and Connie got to the tiny porch of the new house they had bought after everything had been unloaded from the moving truck, "aren't I supposed to carry you inside or something?"

"No, Steven," Connie snort-laughed while she grabbed hold of his arm to continue pulling him through the front door, "That's for when a couple gets married. Besides that, even if we do get married there is no way I'd let you carry me over the threshold."

"Why not?" Steven asked as they walked into the front room to see boxes waiting on the floor. The boxes had been left everywhere as movers were good at getting things into houses but they didn't do much else in terms of help.

"Other than the fact that it's an archaic and gross tradition that dates back to a time when women were denied their agency and that it has ties to families treating weddings as an official exchange of property between the bride's father and husband?" Connie ranted as they made their way into more rooms, counting in order to make sure all the boxes were there, "I’ll need your help putting things away and you shouldn't waste all of your energy carrying me around."

Steven smiled that same big, in awe smile he always did whenever she started spouting off knowledge of things he didn't have even the faintest idea about. She looked absolutely beautiful when her drive shined through her calm exterior. Steven was lucky enough to experience Connie’s passion in many forms. Combining her intensity with her intelligence was the easiest way to make him swoon. He could listen to her go on for hours… for days… for weeks… for months… for years...

For the rest of his life.

"Hmm," Connie hummed sadly as she gazed at the open area their front door led directly into.

"What's up?" Steven asked as he looked around the room as well. The place was small. It was only one floor. The living room and kitchen was basically one large space with a bar and archway between them. There was a master bedroom with its own bathroom, another smaller bedroom and bathroom, a tiny room with a washer and dryer hook-up for doing laundry, and a wooden back deck leading out into a huge back yard. It was more than the couple needed to be honest but Steven had fallen in love with it a second they’d seen it. That had been all of the convincing Connie needed. All she really cared about was being with Steven. He was much more invested in them having a home than she was.

Or rather she had thought that he was more invested than she was. She had thought it right up until the moment she was standing inside of their new home and saw they had filled up most of the space with small boxes. They had left all of Steven's furniture at his old apartment for Max. He didn't have a lot anyway and most of it wasn't suitable for two people. Anything he did bring was for his music, like the stand for his record player. Connie had nothing but the bare minimum from her old bedroom. She had more or less shipped the boxes that she packed from her dorm that she had yet to even unpack. Her parents had put her new address on the unopened boxes and sent them to her without even a letter.

There was something achingly, heartbreakingly sad about the fact Connie had barely moved back into her parents’ home after graduating college before she was already moving out again. This time what would probably have been for the rest of her life.

"This place is so empty," she explained as she began to walk around the house a second time as if she was hoping to see more than what the two had brought with them. If that was her aim then she was disappointed. The other bedroom was the worst of it containing only their combined three guitars as well as boxes of his records and nothing else.

"Huh? But there are boxes everywhere," Steven reminded. He didn’t understand what she was talking about. Everything he owned was in this house, it was far from empty. He followed after, retracing their steps through the small house. His heart was full of joy and elation at the thought. This was actually his home with Connie. He had a real home for the first time in a long time with someone he truly loved.

"Well yeah, but there is nothing else here," she further explained to him as the couple reached their bedroom. Finally, there was a piece of furniture to be found as they picked out a bed together already.

"You didn't want to get anything else."

"I know."

Connie was a practical person. She and Steven were trying to get by as much on their own finances as possible. A table and chairs seemed unnecessary. Bookshelves would be wasted. They expected to have so little company a couch and coffee table wouldn't have gotten much use. They did still need to buy dressers, Connie would get some use out of a desk and a file cabinet was a smart investment for them both, but she figured that could all wait until they saw exactly how much stuff they had between them.

Turned out they had almost nothing even with their things put together. That made her feel sad for a reason she couldn't put a name to.

"Are you okay?" he asked, watching her stare down at the bed they had to still assemble.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said after a delay.

"Connie," he moaned, clearly not believing what she said and hoping to lighten the mood with some teasing he said, "You know I hate it when people keep secrets from me. Tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone else! I'm great with secrets!"

Connie laughed. "No, you’re not! You might be the worst secret keeper I've ever met, Universe!"

"Hey, that's not very nice," Steven whined, "Or true. Sour Cream is awful with secrets and you've met him."

"Okay that may be true but you're still pretty bad," she retorted, "I'm surprised you don't just tell everyone everything."

"I'm good at keeping your secrets, though," he tried once again to get her to admit what she had been thinking about now that she was smiling, "I don't think I have ever told one of your secrets to anyone. You’re special to me. I become an international super spy when it comes to all things Connie related. I swear!"

Again she laughed. Although it was short-lived. "It just feels empty and that makes it feel… cold I guess? And so real. This is all so real now."

"What do you mean?" he asked. Connie shrugged and sat on the mattress that was flat on the bedroom floor in the spot their bed was going to be eventually.

"I mean," she gestured around, "This is it. This is our place. This is my house now and I love it but this also means I am never going back to my old house. I'm never going to live with my parents again. That's not bad but.."

"It's different," he said after she trailed off. Steven made his way across their bedroom to sit with her on their bed, "The idea you’re never going back to be with your parents is weird. It's exciting but also scary. It means you're on your own. Nobody’s there to look after you anymore. It makes you feel like a real adult. I remember what that felt like."

Connie sighed sympathetically as she laid down. "You were young too, right?"

Steven nodded, "Yeah, I was seventeen when I left home."

Connie smiled at her own nostalgia, "That's how old I was when I went away to college."

"Oh yeah?" he asked as he laid down in the bed with her, "That must have been scary too."

"It was."

"But you turned out okay, right?" 

"I did."

"And I also turned out okay even though moving into my place was scary, right?"

"Debatable," she teased.

"Hey!" he said, knocking into her shoulder with his own, 

“You pay all your bills last minute!”

"Well, I think I did alright considering I was basically still a kid when I moved out."

"Okay," she laughed as he poked her side, "I'll give you that."

"So," he continued, stretching the word, "don't you think that means you and I will be okay here?"

Connie turned to look at Steven as well as she answered, "That does make sense…"

"Of course, it does," he said as he shifted to wrap an arm around her and pull her closer to him, "This is going to be great. I promise."

Connie turned to snuggle into his side with a smile back on her face, "Fine, but just so you know I'm going to hold you to that."

"I'm okay with that," he laughed sweetly as he hugged her. The young couple stayed there with her tucked under his chin, her head on his chest, and their bodies pressed together for what felt like far too long a time and not nearly long enough.

"Steven?" Connie mumbled into his neck, sending chills of pleasure through his body even after all their time together.

"Yeah?" he asked into her hair, hoping it caused the same reaction in her. It felt like it had.

"Can we still go out shopping tomorrow for more furniture?"

"Yeah. I'd really like that."

* * *

Connie had lived in the smaller area of Beach City for the latter half of her life and before that she had never spent much time in urban areas. Nashville was a whole new experience for her when it came to pretty much everything. The county she lived in with Steven felt like she had stepped back in time to an idyllic fantasy version of the fifties. Their house was a small building with a massive backyard and long driveway. There were a variety of shops and restaurants within walking distance of their home. Connie had made sure to do her research. As a result, she had found them a house situated in a lovely neighborhood that was homey and quiet without being isolated.

Though she had lived in a bigger city when she went to college, there is something so protected about living on campus. In a way, she had missed out on much of her town as she mostly ate in the dining halls and hardly ventured far for leisure activities. Everything about living in a city was foreign to her. She had hoped that Steven would be more knowledgeable about these things but as his life was spent mostly on tour he was almost as lost about domestic life as Connie was.

On the other hand Max, unsurprisingly, had been loving her new life in Nashville.

"Dude, this city lives and breathes music!" Max said over the phone with Connie as she followed her boyfriend around a small furniture store the next day. They were looking for whatever furniture they could reasonably afford. Steven had wanted to go to Ikea but Connie insisted they support local small businesses over big box stores. She was also determined to avoid that plain, white minimalist look at all costs. "I don't know why you complained! I love this place. Although all the brick gives me war flashbacks to my years trapped in the education system."

"Yeah," Connie shuttered as she watched Steven examine the products up for sale. He looked cute with his face all scrunched up in thought. "It makes you feel like you're about to handed a Scantron test or be called up to the board for long-division, doesn’t it?" 

"Oh totally," Max agreed as she was wandering around Steven's old apartment which was now her new one, "I swear I can still hear Myers’ high, squeaky voice in my nightmares. I’ll probably be haunted by that bastard for the rest of my life."

Connie groaned thinking about the annoying professor from their intro to Poli-Sci class before putting on her best impression of the guy, "Miss Kayori, I appreciate that all students learn in their own unique way however I doubt the authenticity of a note saying you require headphones in class to help your concentration." Connie laughed, "I can't believe you thought that was going to work."

"You never know unless you try, ConCon," Max laughed back and put on her own impression of their previous teacher as she continued, "And it's not as bad as Miss Maheswaran, I will not ask you again! Stop interrupting! If you take issue with how I teach, bring it to the department head!" 

"I wasn't that bad!" Connie moaned though there was a laugh still in her voice and love still in her eyes as she noticed Steven flag down an employee to ask about some detail he noticed or maybe just to chat with the young girl. Steven was that sort of guy.

Max scoffed at her own memory of Connie, "You were a pretentious know-it-all and you know it! Though I hella respected for the balls it took to correct a professor, Con. That's when I knew you and me were going to get along."

"You knew before I did," Connie admitted.

"Uh duh, of course I knew first," Max said, "I've always been the wise one. And the funny one. And the adventurous one. And the cool one. And the lovable one. And-"

"Hey!" Connie interrupted her with a bit of a pout, "If you're all of that, what does that make me?"

"The lucky one. To be friends with me."

"Max!"

"Okay," Max thought a second, "Well, you're the smart one, obviously. And you’re definitely the loyal one."

"Aww," Connie cooed.

"And the badass one who finally told off her control-freak parents so she could live her own damn life,” Max raised her finger for emphasis even though Connie couldn't see her doing it, "And the one who needs to relax because you and Steven are going to be just fine."

At that, Connie turned away from Steven for the first time since they got to the store. Max saw right through her and could tell how badly the anxiety of this commitment was getting to her. So she asked quietly, "You really think so?"

"I know so. You and Steven are for life. I can feel it," Max assured her, still in that sweet voice before finishing with, "Or at least marry the guy first so we can get something out of the divorce. Money, property, stocks, maybe even some publicity in the music scene. I've learned enough about law to get around a prenup, although Steven doesn't seem clever enough to ask for one. We could take him and his legacy for everything, Con Artist!"

Connie rolled her eyes, "I'll keep it in mind. Right now me and my target better get to shopping before he bursts from excitement.” 

"Remember; don't get attached!"

“Have a good day at work." Connie laughed again, hanging up the phone before her eccentric best friend could say anything else. She smiled widely, feeling better with her friend’s confidence in her relationship.

“How’s Max?” Steven asked as he practically skipped over to her side again, smile wide and eyes brimming with adoration. Connie felt herself blush as if this was the first time Steven had ever made eyes at her.

“Excited for work and being as outlandish as usual,” Connie answered, grabbing Steven’s hand and interlacing their fingers. “Alright, handsome, how about we focus on finding a dresser set for our bedroom?”

“Yeah,” Steven agreed excitedly as they walked, “Can we get one that comes with nightstands? Oh, I also saw a nice table and chairs set when we first walked into the store! We could find a matching coffee table too. And I want us to get one of those couches that comes apart! And-”

“Whoa, slow down,” Connie said as her boyfriend dragged her through the store. She wasn’t surprised as he had behaved the same way when they bought their bed, “Since when did you become an interior decorator?”

Steven blushed, looking away, embarrassed, “I just want our home to look nice. That’s all.”

Connie was also embarrassed by the flutter the words “our home” put in her heart as it implied their future together. She also knew Steven well enough by then to understand part of his goal was making their home nice for her. She didn't feel as comfortable there as she should. The couple had planned to spend the night in their new house but found themselves back in Steven’s room at Greg’s penthouse. She couldn’t bring herself to sleep in that empty house.

Connie hugged Steven's arm tightly as they walked along the aisles of the store. She felt much better that day than she did the night before. She was lucky to have such a wonderful guy who wanted nothing more than to make her happy. She wanted to give him the same. He loved their new little home and she was determined to get herself over this speedbump so they could actually start living in it.

"Let's get looking before the people in this place think we're cheap or something," Connie said.

Max was definitely going to make fun of the couple for the almost identical dressers they had picked out, each with a nightstand to match. Connie made sure to avoid anything white though and pushed the same onto Steven. The process of picking what would go in their home helped her gain control of her nerves. She was not much of a fan of the table Steven liked as she felt like it would be broken in no time considering how often the couple and their friends liked to sit on furniture that wasn't made for sitting on.

Still, he seemed to be having fun because Steven could turn absolutely anything, no matter how dull or mundane into an adventure.

“See?” he said with childlike wonder at the couch that came apart, showing her all the pictures on display, “We can make it a box or a hook shape or an L shape! It’s like doing a puzzle with your furniture. We could change it whenever we wanted to! That’s so cool!”

“That is pretty cool,” Connie agreed, “But we really shouldn’t be buying our furniture based on what’s fun. We need to be practical about this.”

“Hmm,” Steven said with a mock thinking face on, complete with his pointer finger to his chin, tongue sticking out and one eye closed, “Is comfy-ness a factor here?”

“Well, it’s a couch so yes I would rank how comfy it is pretty high on the list,” she giggled, wondering what he was thinking.

“Then I guess we should give it a butt test,” he concluded, holding his finger up in a serious way.

“A what?” she said with another titter.

“Butt test,” he repeated but before she could ask again what he meant Steven grabbed her hand as he plopped himself down on the surface. Connie was dragged along and collapsed clumsily next to him. They landed with him mostly in a correct sitting position but with her sprawled more across his lap on her stomach than on the couch. She twisted her head to look at her boyfriend with both annoyance and mirth in her eyes. He smirked down at her with that mischievous glint in his beautiful eyes. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, “Though I wouldn’t call this a butt test as my butt isn’t really on the couch.”

“But,” he asked, emphasizing the word, “Are you comfy?”

Steven wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from moving too much and held her to his chest. Connie didn’t resist him as much as she probably should have considering they were in a public setting. She sighed as she settled in and cuddled up with him. He hugged her even more tightly as she did. Connie tried to focus on how the couch felt but she was misled by how Steven felt. She loved being in Steven’s arms. They were a couple that often fell asleep while doing their best impression of a silverware drawer. The aches and pains that sometimes came with waking up still mostly entangled in one another were well-worth the comfort of being close. Her eyes drifted closed as she relaxed. She was safe with Steven. She was loved, adored, and cherished by Steven. Most importantly, however, she was happy with Steven.

“Yeah,” she cooed, caught up in being with him over being on the couch. As far as she cared nobody else in the world existed. Even as she knew that strangers were staring at the couple in distaste as they often did, she was only concerned with Steven. If her eyes had been open then she would have seen Steven looking at her, clearly displaying the same sentiment.

“I think it would look great in our living room too, don’t you?” he asked as he brushed the hair from her face then ran his knuckles down her cheek. She made a noise of contentment that made his heart beat faster. “Wouldn’t it be nice to come home and settle down like this to just read until we get sleepy every night?”

“Yeah,” Connie said in that same tone. Admittedly, Steven knew he was using his natural charm to his advantage here. She was swooning over him and her love for him which made her much easier to convince of something.

“So?” he asked leaning down to say it softly into her ear, causing her to giggle when his breath tickled her skin, “Do you like it?”

“Yeah,” she said, opening her eyes and turning to face him, “I love it.”

He could tell she was talking about him more than the couch. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and released her so she could twist around to sit on the couch. She wiggled around a bit with a thoughtful look on her face. Then she sat back and settled in again.

“This actually is really comfy,” she admitted.

“Told ya,” he said, standing up. He held his hand out to help Connie to her feet as well.

However, just as Connie reached for him, she felt her phone vibrate. She grabbed it but when she saw who was calling her, she almost dropped the phone in shock. 

She had been living in Nashville for months with little contact with her parents. Most of it was formal and involved tasks like getting information or mailing things. So seeing the word “Dad” flashing on her screen was enough to almost give her an anxiety attack.

Connie let the phone ring for longer than she normally would have. In part, because she couldn’t believe he was calling her and in part because that shock made her momentarily forget how to use a phone. Although she did give in and answer, probably right before her voicemail would’ve picked up instead.

“Dad?” she asked, in absence of a proper greeting.

Her father with a brighter tone than she expected said, “Hey, sweetheart! It’s nice to talk to you. Feels like it’s been quite some time, huh?”

“It certainly has been a while,” she answered. There was truth to that. Connie mostly dealt with her father on the phone as her mother barely spoke in the background. She used to hear from her parents multiple times every week. The last time she had heard her dad’s voice was three weeks ago when he had called her to make sure everything she wanted was packed and shipped out. She wasn’t even sure what her parents had done with the things she didn’t ask for. She texted him when her boxes arrived two weeks ago and there had been no communication between the Maheswarans and their only daughter since.

“I was so glad to see that everything we sent got to you in one piece,” he continued in an oddly conversational tone. “As you know, I hold a lot of respect for postal workers.”

“Yeah, I know, dad,” Connie said, glancing up at Steven briefly to see the color had drained from his face. His heart had stopped when she had verbalized it was her father who had called her. Most young men were wary of their girlfriend’s parents, especially the father but Steven had more justification to be than other guys. Namely that he was the exact reason she had not spoken to her mother in months and why she rarely contacted her father. The hand he already had out found a place on her shoulder. Her own hand came up to grasp it as she felt him sit back down beside her.

"So," her father said awkwardly after a moment of pause, "how have you been?"

"I've been alright," Connie answered as her hold on Steven loosened. Doug was certainly the easier out of her parents to deal with but his kind nature was deceptive in a way. He was genuinely sweet just by his nature but she knew he disapproved of Steven just as much as her mother did. Priyanka was simply more obvious about her disappointment in her child than Doug.

"I hope you are remembering to stay cool. Summer in the south can be scorching hot. It must be why they call the music scene down on Nashville _lit_." Doug then laughed at his own joke.

"Yeah, well, most places here have central air conditioning," Connie responded, rolling her eyes at her dad's sense of humor. "I'm staying hydrated and putting on sunscreen every day though. Just to be safe.

"Yeah you've always been smart about keeping safe," he confirmed with a bit of a sigh in his voice, "It makes a father proud to see that he's taught his daughter well… on most things anyway."

There it was. She had been hopeful for that moment when it came to her dad and her life choices. However, that sentence just proved that his feelings on everything that had happened since her graduation hadn't changed. With a bit of defeat in her tone, she said, "You did."

"How's Maxine?" he asked. Connie saw Steven look around and knew it was most likely because he was watching out for employees who would yell at them for still being on the display couch. They probably weren't supposed to be sitting on it at all in the first place. She wasn't sure she could stand on her weak legs if she tried though, let alone walk.

"She's fine, she loves her new job," she spoke with as much of a casual air as she could manage.

"Happy to hear it," Doug said with more sincere enthusiasm than Connie expected. There was still surprise and frustration behind it as well, however. Maxine Kayori was no longer an approved associate with the truth about her hobbies now known. That didn't mean her parents suddenly hated her friend but their disappointment extended past their own daughter. 

Then almost like it was painful for him to even attempt to say her father asked her, "And are you still- what I mean is what are things like with- that is- how is, uh, um-"

"My boyfriend?" she sighed in her sadness and frustration, "His name is Steven, dad."

"Right, yes, I remember," he responded, "How is Steven?"

"He's good," she said, sitting up straighter, "We've been settling into the house over this last week. He's pretty excited about it."

"Oh? So you actually did it?" Doug asked in obvious surprise, "You bought a house?"

"Yes, we did. I told you we were going to," Connie had to fight off her groan. This was the reason she didn't talk to her parents. Whatever respect they had for her before had completely diminished by that point. That was all she could handle. As far as she cared it was now time to end this call, "Dad, I'm in public right now so-"

"We should come and see it for ourselves," her father cut her off to say, "The house. Your mother and I could fly out for a visit."

There was a long pause as neither said anything for some time. One might even think the call had disconnected the two were so quiet.

"What?" Connie finally asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like us to visit you at your new place," her dad clarified for her, fighting hard to project his fake excitement. "You and… Steven."

"I…" she looked back at Steven, her hold on his hand tightening. He was so worried about her. He knew phone calls with either of her parents was hard but it had become even more so in the last couple of weeks.

Connie turned to meet Steven's gaze and bit her lip. She wanted to ask him about it but knew what he would say. Steven was an optimist and she knew on some level he still hoped the Maheswarans would come around on the idea of him and them. So with a deep breath, she said, "I would like that. Steven would too."

"Great," her dad responded, sounding as if he had been holding his breath waiting for her answer, "Your mother took the coming weekend off for once so why don't we plan to see you then?"

"Oh that's… soon," she responded just as the employee reached them. Steven stood with his hand still on her shoulder to talk with the young man.

"Is that too soon?" Doug asked cautiously. Part of her wanted to say that it was since she still wasn't over the way her parents had disowned her over the guy she was dating. She wasn't entirely sure how she even felt about her parents other than hurt.

Connie couldn't deny though that she did miss them. They were her parents after all. She stood with Steven saying, "No, it's not too soon. We'd be happy to have you!"

"Alright then," he replied, sounding even more relieved this time, "We'll be there in a few days then."

"I guess you will," Connie said, allowing Steven to guide her away from the couch at presumably the employee's request. She swallowed hard, "Well, I have to go but it was nice to talk to you, dad."

"I-" he hesitated as well, "It was nice to talk to you too, Connie."

"I love you. Both of you."

"We love you, too. We'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon."

With that, the call was over.

Steven stood by Connie having refused to let her go. She held her phone to her chest and he wondered if she was about to faint as so much color drained from her skin. She was shaking slightly too. He wasn't sure what to do other than wait for her to say something. He knew conversations with her parents could be hard and he tried to give her privacy but he had picked up on the words "see you soon."

Externally, he gave her some space and waited patiently for whatever she needed. Internally, he began to panic. Those words put in combination with Connie's sudden disconnect from the house they bought made him wonder if she was going back to her parents' place in Beach City. He could tell his thinking was paranoid and silly because Connie loved him and wanted to be with him. He couldn't help feeling that she was going to choose her old life over this new one they were making together. After all, it was his fault that she had lost that life. It was his fault for not being a man her parents approved of. Maybe he should think about taking a couple of courses online.

Finally, in a soft voice, she told him, "That was my dad."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out," he said as he took her hand and squeezed to show his support. She squeezed his hand back, "Are you okay?"

"I- I don't know," she said honestly, "I mean I think I'm okay. I guess I'm in shock that he called me. He said he misses me."

"That sounds good," he said with a smile, trying to ignore his selfish heart pounding double-time in intense fear, "You miss him, too, right? And your mom?"

"I do miss them," she confirmed, sadly. She may have fought with her parents and almost cut ties but there was still a lot that she loved about them. They weren't all bad. "And it was good. I think anyway.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, it depends what you consider good," she explained, looking away. Unsure how to say what she needed to, she decided to just go for it, "They want to come see us."

"They do?!" Steven said, unable to hide his shock. His eyes bugged and his mouth dropped open. He didn't miss that she had used the word "us," not "me." That meant her parents wanted to see both of them, together, as a couple. That was a big deal.

"Yeah," Connie said, nodding, "They want to see the house."

"That's great!" he responded, "I can't wait for your parents to see our new house. Maybe we can even have dinner together."

Steven was ashamed at how hard he had to fight off his smile. This was another chance for Steven to make a good impression on the Maheswaran parents and maybe even earn their approval! This was absolutely good news. How could Connie see it any other way?

However Steven, of course, did not know Connie's parents the way she knew them. She knew them well enough not to trust that this visit was entirely in good faith on their part. Connie also knew them enough to know that she and Steven needed to get their house ready for a surprise inspection.

"I'm not sure about that," she said, already knowing that while Steven could cook that what he enjoyed eating would not be up to her parents' standards. Though to be fair, not much was. "But if we're going to have company soon we should finish getting things set up. We don't even have a place for people to sit yet."

"Oh yeah," he said then with a shy smile he pointed behind his back at the display, "So does that mean-"

"Alright, Steven," she sighed with affection, "We can get the couch."

"Yes!" he cheered, lifting her spirits and making her feel hopeful. After all, her dad had been the one who reached out to her. That had to be a good sign.

Right?

* * *

Steven had never worked more intensely in his entire life than he did in the days after the phone call from Connie's father. Between cleaning, unpacking, setting up their furniture, and organizing everything he and Connie owned he barely had a free moment to himself the entire time.

That was nothing compared to how hard Connie was working. More than once he had woken up to find her not in bed with him but already at the house working on something to prepare for the incoming visit from her parents. She often took the car his dad gave him, a '96 Dondai Supremo, leaving him to follow after in his tour van.

Steven didn't understand why but he and Connie were still sleeping in his room at his dad's apartment. Despite the fact that she was at the house until almost midnight over the last few days, they still drove back to Greg's penthouse before going to bed for the night.

On the upside, the work had paid off since the only room left to finish was the second bedroom, the couple had decided it would be best used for storage and as an office once Connie found a desk and file cabinet she liked.

Admittedly that couch Steven loved had taken a pretty big chunk out of their budget for furnishing the house so it would simply have to wait.

"Steven," Connie moaned when she found him sitting on the floor with pieces everywhere and an instruction book surrounding him. "What are you still doing? I thought we put all the furniture together already!"

"No, no. We did!" he insisted, then amended, "Or at least all of the furniture we bought."

"And what does that mean?" she asked, joining him in the room and looking down at his project.

Steven looked away embarrassed, "Well… this is actually mine. I bought it years ago to store some of my stuff, like my records." He held up an oddly shaped piece then pointed to the boxes of vinyl in the closet, "It has a perfect rack once it's together."

"I've never seen it before," she said with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. They had a lot to get done before her parents arrived later that day and she didn't need Steven wasting his time.

"I didn't have it at my place," he explained, "It didn't fit anywhere so it's been in a box at my dad's place since I first bought it."

Connie groaned, "Why are you putting it together right now?"

Steven shrugged, "You said you wanted the house ready when your parents came."

"I know but, they're going to be here in an hour and we both still need to shower and get dressed. We also have to make sure that we didn't miss anything while we were cleaning and-"

Connie's rant was cut off by Steven's lips as he kissed her, softly. She hadn't even seen him stand up. She tried to be upset with him but felt herself melt into his kiss. Sometimes she would swear they were magic kisses as she felt her body relax almost instantly. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist to hug her to his body, forcing her crossed arms to press against his chest. He continued to plant gentle kisses on her mouth that she accepted without resistance. There was some tension left behind but the loving gesture was reassuring all the same.

"Relax," he said as he pulled back slightly but still held her in a supportive embrace. "Trust me. I know that you're worried but you need to calm down. I'm scared you'll give yourself a panic attack if you keep going at this pace."

Connie sighed as she leaned into him and tried to joke, "It wouldn't be the first time."

From the look on his face, she could tell Steven did not appreciate her joke. It only served to make him worry about her more than he already was. He shook his head. "Have your parents always had this effect on you?"

"Not always," she said, tucking her head under his chin as best she could manage, "But I don't really remember when they didn't. I was too young."

"Okay well has worrying like this ever made it easier to deal with?"

She hesitated, "...not really."

"So it probably won't help now, right?"

"I guess not."

"So that means you should probably relax a little bit, right?"

"Yeah, I should," she said though instead, her body went rigid, "It's just- I haven't seen my parents since I left for the U.K. months ago! They've barely even spoken to me. Now they're coming here out of nowhere and I don't know why."

Steven shrugged, "Maybe they just want to see you. They probably miss you. Isn't that what your dad said?"

"Yeah, it is," she confirmed. It was too hard to believe when it came to her parents that was their entire motivation in visiting after everything that had happened between her and them. "But I'm scared to see them."

"It's okay to be scared," he reassured her, petting her hair gently, "But you shouldn't let that stop you from seeing them if you want to. I know how much you miss them." Connie felt tears gather in her eyes and the sniffing noise he heard made Steven almost crush her to his body. "And you're not alone. I'm here. I'm not going away."

"Promise?" she whispered.

"I promise."

"Thanks, Steven," she said, finally letting her arms uncross to hug him, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said before moving to kiss her forehead. After one last squeeze, he loosened his grip, "Alright so we should finish getting this place ready."

Connie smiled up at him for a moment then looked past his shoulder at the stuff on the floor, "Are you really going to put that thing together right now?"

"I'll be ready," he said, turning around to look back at it, "This will only take me five minutes."

Connie looked skeptical but trusted him. "Okay, but please as soon as you're done, get dressed. And remember to brush out your hair."

"I know," he assured with a small laugh before releasing her to kneel on the floor, "Don't worry."

"That impossible," she said with her own small laugh, "But I will try."

Connie pat Steven's head and scratched his hair before she walked out of the room again. However, even though she'd just told her boyfriend she was going to try and calm down, her anxiety was already building as she stepped out into the hallway. It started as a slow climb as she mentally checked off what she had left to do but spiked when the doorbell rang. She flinched so hard she had to grab hold of the nearest wall so she didn't fall.

Clutching the entrance to the kitchen with her heart now racing, Connie paused, not sure if the noise came from her doorbell. No one knew Steven and Connie even lived here except Mr. Universe and Max, both of whom were at a show that day. 

Given her luck, Connie should not have been surprised when she opened the door to find Doug and Priyanka were standing on the other side.

"Mom?! Dad?!" she asked in shock when she saw them on her front porch.

"Hi there, kid!" her father greeted joyously with a wide smile. Though it dropped when he fully saw her.

"Hello, Connie," Priyanka said, her tone was much colder than Doug's had been. Then her eyes scanned over her daughter in a way that conveyed distaste.

"Hello, ma'am," she said instinctively while crossing her arms over her chest in a lame attempt to hide her messy appearance as her mother stood by in silent judgment, holding a succulent in her hands. Bringing a cactus was a classic Maheswaran move when visiting someone for the first time. She hadn't had the chance to shower yet, her hair was thrown up in a messy bun and she was in clothes suited for cleaning and unpacking. 

"That's certainly an… interesting t-shirt," her dad said, pointing at the oversized Star Destroyers t-shirt she was wearing over her spandex shorts. The graphic tee, an article of clothing Connie had never been allowed to wear while growing up, depicted a scene of the band's mascot Stephen Space-Wolf, in his aviator glasses and leather jacket standing on the moon over an exaggerated cartoon characterization of a wealthy businessman being stabbed brutally in the back by the American flag being flown upside-down with an inverted color scheme. "Star Destroyers" had been written in the stars above.

Max had thought the image was funny and "hella punk" when she designed it to which Buck had agreed. Steven felt the shirt was too violent so he only wore it a few times before he gave it to Connie who had no issue with the concept it conveyed and loved to wear his shirts to bed anyway. Although she did not often wear Steven's merch in public and she would have never chosen to do so in front of her parents.

"Max designed it," Connie said, shrinking away in embarrassment while moving aside to allow her parents to step into the living room. Her father continued to speak with her as her mother's eyes critically examined the area.

"That girl always has… different ideas."

"Yeah," Connie agreed, "She marches to her own beat."

Finally, her mom spoke, "Don't humor her! Connie, did you really believe that this was an appropriate way to dress for company?"

"Obviously not!" Connie said, defensively, "I didn't know it was you when I answered the door!"

"Why on earth would you answer the door like this for anyone?" her mother argued.

"What was I supposed to do? I can't just leave people standing on the front porch while I clean myself up and get dressed."

"Don't you get smart with me. You knew that we were coming."

"I wasn't expecting you yet. You said that you weren't going to be here until three."

"It is three," her father interrupted before they launched into a full-blown argument.

"What?" Connie asked, turning to check her wall clock. It showed the time as being five minutes after two. "No, it isn't."

"I know how to tell time," her dad insisted, "I've been doing it since before you were born you know." He checked his watch then showed it to her proudly, "Aha, three, just like I said."

She looked at his wrist and realized what had happened, "Dad, you remembered to reset your watch to central time, right?"

Doug's face fell indicating that he had not remembered to do that. He blushed as he scratched the side of his face with an embarrassed expression, "Oh, I knew there was something I forgot to do when we left the airport."

Priyanka rolled her eyes, "I told you to set your watch when we first got off the plane. Remember? When I went to the restroom. How did you forget?"

"I remember," he said then he explained, "There was a man in the airport who was selling maps to historical Nashville. We got caught up in an interesting conversation. Did you know Centennial Park is home to the only replica of the Greek Parthenon?"

"I did," Connie laughed affectionately while her mother gave him an annoyed yet still adoring smile. Doug was more than a bit of a goofball and they both loved him for it. "I've been there. A few times actually."

"Have you?" he said, clearly interested.

"Of course," she said while taking the plant from her mother who was back to looking around the house. Most likely trying to find whatever flaw she could. Connie looked around for a spot for the pot only to end up putting it on the coffee table, "I've been to most famous places in Nashville. The ones I could afford anyway."

"That's great," he said then put a hand on her shoulder to pretend to lean in and whisper to her, "So how about helping me convince your mother to check out the city while we're here?"

"I can hear you," Priyanka said, trying to hide her amusement, "We don't have time for sight-seeing."

"Of course we do," Doug insisted, "In fact, I'll bet with an expert at our side, we could be navigating the city like pros by the end of the weekend."

"I wouldn't exactly call Steven an expert," Connie laughed with some genuine mirth, "He can barely find his way to his dad's recording studio."

Instantly, the atmosphere shifted. It was like all the warmth was sucked out and was replaced with a chilling nothingness. Both of her parents went stiff and serious at the mention of his name. Almost as if they'd forgotten about his existence until that moment. Her father had apparently been referring to her, not her boyfriend.

"Right," Doug said, stretching the word out as Priyanka crossed her arms. He cleared out his throat, "And, uh, where is he?"

"He's probably in the bedroom," she said, hoping he was making himself presentable for her parents' arrival.

" _The_ bedroom?" her mother asked, putting a different kind of emphasis on each word. It was clearly a test. Her parents knew that she and Steven shared a room. Her mom was simply trying to force her to confirm it.

"Yes, our bedroom," Connie said, knowing she was walking into a trap. Sure enough, the Maheswaran parents made faces as if surprised and appalled by the concept that their adult daughter slept in the same bed as her adult boyfriend.

"Well, we should probably go find him and say hello," Doug said after a moment, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder as he did. Priyanka relaxed at her husband’s touch then quickly brushed his hand off. She never liked to admit how much she enjoyed physical affection even from the man she loved. Touch was difficult for her and that was something he had learned to live with.

“Alright, let me show you the house while we’re at it,” Connie said, turning around to lead them further inside, “There isn’t much to see though.”

“It looks great from the outside,” her father reassured, “Though the driveway could use some work.”

“Thanks, dad,” she said with a tiny groan. She knew they needed to get it paved in the near future. “So this is the living room, we really like this one wood wall here. We’re thinking of putting in a fake fireplace below a T.V. when we get one and this is the kitchen,” her parents followed her as their eyes scanned the interior. She knew when they were ready to criticize they would speak. “We haven’t hooked up a dishwasher yet but we’re working on it.”

“Well, I’m sure you can handle washing dishes by hand for a while,” Priyanka said, trying not to roll her eyes, “I’m sure a pair of unemployed young adults have time to do dishes.”

Connie’s face flushed with anger, “Steven isn’t unemployed. He’s a professional musician and works part-time at his dad’s record studio when he isn’t performing.”

“Yes, dear,” her father said, “Isn’t your shirt from one of his shows?”

Connie looked down at the shirt again, pulling it out to see the image, “Yeah, Max had it made for a short west coast tour they did right before their new album came out. The Space-wolf has become their mascot and they wanted to show it off before they headed out to tour the U.K.”

“Is that why you were over there?” her mother asked without even trying to be kind, “With him? So you could go to his dangerous rock shows, partying and getting drunk?”

“I didn’t get drunk!” she insisted, getting defensive as she took them into the hallway, “We visited tons of historical places there because Steven actually really likes to learn. He likes to read too. He’s been making his way through a few of my old school books.”

“Didn’t he read them in school, himself?” Priyanka quizzed and Connie sighed.

“He didn’t go to school,” she admitted, knowing without looking at them the faces her parents pulled when she said it. It was one thing that Connie was dating a musician. It was another that she was an “uneducated” musician. “He didn’t get much of a formal education.”

“Does he have a GED then at least?” her mother asked only a moment after the words had left her mouth.

“I… I don’t know,” she confessed, “I’ve never asked him about it.”

“What do you mean you’ve never asked him?” Priyanka almost snapped but barely held herself back from it. Connie could still sense her frustration.

“It didn’t seem like it was my business or really that important, honestly.”

“I would consider the level of education someone has very important if you are going to become romantically involved with them.”

“Yeah, I know that you would but I don’t!” Unlike her mother, Connie did snap.

“It’s not too late to get one,” her mother continued, switching tactics, “Most community centers and high schools offer night classes. It should only take him a few weeks at most.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to mention it in case it’s something he wants to do,” she replied, fighting not to roll her eyes, “Classes are usually at night though and Steven’s shows mostly happen at night.”

“Probably because people who enjoy going to concerts have jobs,” her mother mumbled.

Connie felt her blood boil at those words. Steven had a job! A job that he loved. Just because her mother didn’t understand or approve of it didn’t mean she had any sort of right to criticize it. She clenched her fist and went to say something only to be cut off as her father stepped between them.

“Does he have any shows happening soon or any planned for the northeast in the near future?” Doug asked as he placed himself as a barrier between his wife and his child, “Perhaps we could see him in action. I’ll bet he’s pretty great if he’s playing all over the country. And in Europe too!”

There was desperation in his eyes and shakiness to his voice. Doug wanted to make this work. It had taken days for him to convince Priyanka to make the trip down to Nashville along with him or he would have simply gone alone. Even then the night they were set to leave, they’d gotten into an argument with Priyanka insisting Doug was only encouraging their daughter’s rebellion. It wasn’t true. He wasn’t any happier with the situation than her. However, as any father would, he missed his child with all his heart. He was willing to do anything to see her again.

Even if it meant trying to find common ground with the man she was dating when the man was everything Doug didn’t want for her.

“Um,” Connie blushed, feeling ashamed and unsure what to say. She had just told her parents that music was her boyfriend’s job. How was she supposed to now tell them that he was taking a break from it? She swallowed hard and just made something up, “He’s going to be spending more time working with Max and his dad right now. The tour in the U.K. took a lot out of him.”

She could tell from the look on their faces that her parents knew she was bullshitting them and her mother was about to comment so she quickly cut them off before they could by grabbing the nearest doorknob and opening the door with force, saying, “Anyway, this is the small bathroom.”

She regretted her choice immediately when all opening the door did was reveal a half-dressed Steven buttoning up his jeans to her parents. He jumped in surprise and she felt guilty. His hair was wet so he had hopped in the shower which she appreciated. Although she would have appreciated it a lot more if the first time her parents saw him since learning he was her boyfriend he had been wearing a shirt.

“Connie?” Steven questioned in surprise at the sight of her then noticed who was behind her. His eyes bugged out in slight terror, “H-hey Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran. It’s, uh, nice to see you.”

“Oh, uh, hello, there,” Doug said with a weak wave. His wife simply gave Steven a once-over before turning her head away embarrassed by the sight.

“Steven!” Connie gasped, feeling her cheeks burning, “I’m so sorry. I thought you were going to shower in our bathroom!”

“I… I was leaving it open for you,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck and blushing red. He hadn’t finished with his building project but Connie seemed so stressed about her parents that he decided to freshen himself up.

“Oh, thanks,” she said then began to walk backward out of the room, “We’ll just leave you to finish getting dressed.”

“Thanks,” he said, looking around, only to see he had forgotten something, “Actually I think I left my shirt on our bed…”

“Oh, uh, okay,” Connie replied, stepping aside to let a very red-faced and shirtless Steven dash past her parents.

“Well, I’d say that was mortifying for everyone involved,” Priyanka commented once Steven had disappeared through the door to his and Connie’s room. 

Connie sighed heavily as she shut the door to the small bathroom and heard her father reply to her mother in a whisper, “At least he doesn’t have any tattoos.”

That made Connie grateful that Steven had had his pants on at least. Forcing on another smile, she walked her parents to the other bedroom, “This is the small bedroom, sorry for the mess, we’re still getting it set up.”

She noticed the way her parents glanced at each other in panic after looking around the room. Her father leaned down to examine the structure Steven had started but had yet to finish. He picked up a few pieces as if trying to figure out what it was. He carefully looked over each part and set it down gently. Her mother also cautiously entered the room as if looking around for clues. Connie had only ever seen her parents act this way if they believed she was hiding something. She couldn’t begin to imagine why they were doing it at the moment, though. 

They exchanged glances as they scanned the room and whatever contents it held. Steven came to join her as she was watching them. He was wearing that pink button-up he wore to the party in L.A. which she knew was one of the only appropriate shirts he owned for this visit but her memories of it still made her blush.

"What are they doing?” he asked, quietly hoping the older couple didn’t hear.

“I don’t know,” she responded with a shrug.

“Did they do this in every room?”

“No. I mean they got a little judgy but not like this,” she said, shaking her head, “I haven’t seen them do this since I was a teenager.”

She felt his hand on her back. He gave her a somehow both hopeful and sympathetic look while he rubbed her back. She was torn between asking him not to touch her in front of her parents and wanting to feel his love and support. He leaned in close to ask, “How’s it going? Other than the bathroom thing.”

“Not great,” she sighed, “I’m not sure it could be much worse honestly.”

Before Steven could respond her mom spoke up as she made her way back over to the couple. “So,” she asked leadingly after she had observed the whole room, “What do you plan to do with this room?”

“Oh,” Steven answered as Connie stepped away from his hand. He tried not to be hurt by that. She had two settings when it came to her parents, even just during phone calls. Either she was desperate for affection or emotionally distant. Steven though was determined for this to go as well as it possibly could, no matter how futile Connie seemed to think them trying was. He put on his friendliest smile as he spoke with her mother, “I’m going to store my equipment in here and Connie is going to get a desk to use it as an office.”

“Really?” Priyanka asked, seemingly shocked by the answer, “Is that all?”

“Uh, yeah,” Steven responded, “Unless you have any other suggestions. I’m not sure what else we could use it for.”

“What is this then?” Doug asked, holding up part of the storage piece Steven had been building. Steven looked between his girlfriend’s parents. They were acting weird and he wasn’t sure how to react to their behavior. He decided as strange as it was to just deal with it as he wanted badly to make a positive impression on them.

“It’s some shelving I bought for my records,” he explained, “I was trying to put it together before you got here but it’s harder than it looks.”

Both of her parents let out a breath they had been holding in since they entered the small room, giving each other a relieved look. Connie and Steven also gave each other a look before turning back to her parents. With his own friendly smile, Doug directed his attention over to Steven and waved his hand over the unassembled storage space on the floor.

“Where did you get this?” Doug asked him as he looked over the rest of the set.

“Ikea,” he answered, joining the man on the floor, “I got it a while ago before I even met Connie.”

“Well, not to brag,” the older man said, proudly, “But I’ve put together quite a few Ikea projects since my days as a bachelor. I could give you a few tips.”

“Really?” the younger man asked, excitedly, “That would be great!”

“Doug, please,” his wife groaned, embarrassed by her husband despite her affection for him.

“Dad, you don’t have to do that,” Connie agreed, knowing just how much he was exaggerating his own abilities.

“Nonsense,” Doug insisted, turning to the two women, “I’d love to give the kid a hand.”

“I would appreciate the help,” Steven hurried to say. He was not about to miss any opportunity to bond with Connie’s dad.

“Well, alright then,” Doug said, sounding a little excited himself as he shrugged off his jacket and tossed it to the side before he rolled up his sleeves. “How about you and I let the ladies get back to their business while we put this thing together for you?”

“Dad,” Connie moaned as Steven focused only on the olive branch the man was offering him.

“Okay,” he replied, happily.

“Great!” Doug said, still trying to maintain that friendly tone, “We better get working, Steve.”

“Oh, uh, it’s Steven,” he corrected politely.

“Oh, okay then,” her father said, his mood dampening slightly.

“Or you can call me Steve if you want,” he said, afraid he had ruined the good banter he had been creating with her father.

“Oh,” Doug said, feeling put-off, “Either way, we should get started on this.”

“We should,” Steven agreed, gathering the instructions for them to follow. He was going to do whatever he could to not mess things up with Connie’s dad.

“Well,” Priyanka said, facing Connie, “They seem to be distracted by their little project now.”

“They do,” Connie agreed, aware that she had lost the buffer between her and her mother with her father helping Steven.

“Would you like to continue showing me the house?”

Connie wanted very badly to say no.

“Sure.”

With that Connie led her mother from the room, leaving Steven alone with her father. The men started their project by putting to one side what Steven had already put together off to one side and making piles of what was left on the other side. After they had everything laid out in the best order to proceed, Doug took a look at the instructions. Steven sat with him patiently, not wanting to interrupt. It was going surprisingly well with Connie’s dad and he didn’t want to do anything that might offend the man.

“You started correctly,” he commented with a nod of approval. Steven fought to contain his happiness. That was the only sign of approval he had ever gotten from her father. “That will make it easy to continue where you left off.”

“Awesome!” Steven said, grabbing the part closest to him that looked like the one on the sheet, “I think this piece is next.”

“I do believe you’re right,” Doug commented, grabbing the screwdriver. “Hold it in place for me.”

Steven and Doug spent the next few minutes putting in pieces and talking casually about what they were doing. Most of the conversation was just confirming instructions or asking to pass things to one another. Steven didn’t care though. He was hanging out with Connie’s dad and they were getting along. Doug had even laughed at a few of his puns. He tried to do the same but wasn’t always sure when Doug was kidding. The time passed by pleasantly as they worked and both were grateful for it.

“So,” Doug finally decided to venture as they neared the end of their project, “You and Connie have been seeing each other now for a while?”

“Huh? Umm, yeah, I guess so,” Steven said, caught off-guard by the question, “We actually just celebrated our first anniversary of becoming an official couple.”

“I see,” the man said and then asked as curiosity got to him, “And how did you two meet?”

“She and Max came to one of my shows and we met at the bar,” he explained, thinking back on the moment he first laid eyes on Connie.

“What were they doing at your show?” Doug asked with a confused look on his face. Connie had told her parents she met Steven during her history trip across the U.S. but he hadn’t expected it to be at a rock show.

“Huh? They went to every show,” Steven explained as he screwed in the next part.

“They did?”

“Well, yeah. That’s kinda the point of following a band on tour.”

“She did what?!” he suddenly snapped.

Steven flinched, dropping the screwdriver and almost knocking over what they’d built. He caught the shelf in time but Connie’s father didn’t seem to care as he was staring daggers at Steven. He gritted his teeth as his breathing became heavy. Apparently, Connie still had a couple of things she hadn’t shared with her parents.

“Um,” Steven said, unsure where to start, trying to think of something fast, “Well, you know Max and Connie took that historical trip across the country. My band happened to be touring and went to all the same cities. A-and since we were on the same route they just decided to check out our shows every night.”

It was a lie Steven hoped her dad bought. The look on the older man's face told him whatever he believed the origin of Steven and Connie's relationship was, this new development wasn't one he was fond of. He tried to be understanding their relationship but his patience had run out.

"Are you telling me that Connie chased your band all around the country for almost a month like some kind of- of- of-"

"Groupie?" Steven supplied quite stupidly, regretting that decision a moment later.

"What the hell did you just call my daughter?!"

Soon a long finger was being pointed into his face as Doug sprang up onto his knees to give himself some height over Steven. The younger man leaned back and tumbled back onto his butt. He managed to brace himself on his hands as the man towered over him with more authority than he had believed the guy was capable of.

"I was asking if that's what you thought!" Steven defended, "I’d never call Connie-"

"Is that what you think of her?!" Doug cut Steven off, looming over him as he did so, "I've heard the stories! I know what guys like you are like and I know the way you treat women!"

"No, no! It's not- I’m not that kind of guy," Steven scrambled backward away from the pursuit of Mr. Maheswaran's anger. Things had been going well. Now they were worse than ever and Steven was the one to blame. "Things aren’t like that! Not anymore! Not since I met Connie."

"Not anymore?!" Doug gasped, "How many girls have you been with, exactly?"

Oh boy, not this question again.

"Is this just what you do?!" Doug snapped, "Seduce innocent girls and convince them to run away from home, make them ruin their futures so you can have a bit of fun? And what do you do when you are done? Toss them out like trash?! So you can take advantage of more young girls who come to your shows?"

"I didn't take advantage of Connie!" Steven said firmly as he sat up straighter. "And you don't have any right to say that I did!" Steven wasn't going to let Doug talk badly about the best thing to ever happen to him. The guy may have been Connie's dad but that alone didn't give him any right to insult their relationship. "We didn't even kiss the night we met! We barely spoke at all!"

Doug scoffed, "It must have been a little bit more than that given the current situation, _Steven_." He said the younger man's name with vitriol as he gestured around the room with his hand. "Young women usually don't leave home and throw away their futures because some guy at the bar bought them a beer!"

"Of course there was more!" Steven argued back, "We hung out and we got to know each other. We fell in love!"

The confession stopped Doug cold. It was not a surprise. Anyone could have guessed the young couple thought they were in love. Hearing it though was quite a different experience.

This young man who played rock music for a living and had no education was in love with his daughter. He didn't have a real job and wore old shoes to formal occasions. His band made offensive t-shirts and wrote songs with inappropriate lyrics. There was no way Connie was the first woman he'd been with either. Steven was nothing like the type of man the Maheswarans wanted for the daughter but despite that Steven was the man who loved her. Much more importantly though, as the last few weeks had shown, Connie loved Steven back. 

Enough to choose him over her own parents.

Steven shifted up to Doug's height as the older man’s body sagged in defeat. The man had lost whatever was driving him in his attack against Steven. As mad as Steven wanted to be at Doug, his kind and sympathetic nature won out. "Mr. Maheswaran? Are you feeling okay?"

"I-" Doug shook his head. This boy was basically a stranger and he was the very last person that the older man should be having this conversation with. Or maybe he was the only man for Doug to have this conversation with. Either way, there was so much sincerity to his inquiry the man found himself admitting, "I miss Connie."

"Oh," Steven said, shifting uncomfortably. As awkward as it was, he politely listened to the man speak.

"She hasn't spoken to us in weeks and before that," Doug shook his head, "She barely talked to us about her life at all. There's so much that we don't know about our own daughter."

The man sighed, moving to sit up against the wall. He stared down at his hands as if he was disappointed in them. "She's kept so much from us and all we ever wanted was to keep her safe. We just want to make sure that she's successful, healthy, and happy."

Steven sat next to Doug with a thoughtful look on his face as the man continued, "But she wasn't really happy, was she? Otherwise, she wouldn't have run off with someone like you."

Steven tried not to take offense to that as he explained, "I don't think Connie leaving had as much to do with me as you think."

Doug glanced up again at those words and met Steven's gaze. "What?"

"I think- I know this might be hard to hear but she was probably going to leave even if she didn't meet me," Steven shrugged, "You said it yourself, she was lying to you and she wasn't happy. She didn't feel like she could be herself there. Would you stay somewhere that made you feel that way?"

"I suppose not," Doug sighed out sadly. The other man was making a good point. Perhaps, Connie leaving had much more to do with the way her parents acted than the young musician. Steven was nothing more than the way out of her apparently bad situation.

No, not nothing. Steven was the man that his daughter wanted to be with and whether Doug liked it or not it was a reality.

"Look on the bright side," Steven said as he put a hand on Doug's shoulder. He took it off when the older man's eyes narrowed, "Uh, she invited you here, into our house. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't want to see you, right? That must mean that she wants you to be a part of her life. She wants to share things with you and doesn't want to keep lying to you about important stuff. Isn't that a good thing?"

“It is a good thing,” he agreed, “I just wish she would have spoken to us about all of this before she decided to leave, instead. I can’t help feeling like it didn’t have to be this way. That we could have sat down and worked this out as a family.”

“You still can,” Steven reassured, thinking back to his talk with Garnet in the U.K., “Just because you don’t live together anymore or had a fight doesn’t mean you aren’t family. Connie cares a lot about you and her mom. What you guys think of her is really important to Connie? She told me.”

“Is that why she’s hidden so much from us? Because we’re important to her?” Doug asked with very clear sarcasm in his tone. 

What he didn’t expect was for Steven to say, “Yes, that’s exactly why she did it. She would rather hide things from you and lie than disappoint you! She wants you to be proud of her!”

“We are proud of her,” Doug insisted, “I’ve never been more proud of anything in my entire life! Connie is the greatest thing I have put into the world.”

“Then you guys should tell her that more often,” Steven argued, “Because that’s definitely not how she thinks you feel.”

Doug stared at the young man he’d met three times in his life, one over a stressful video call that would go down as one of the worst moments in his own personal history. This young man knew his daughter better than he did. What father wouldn’t be ashamed of himself over that? 

Steven was just speaking the truth to him. He had seen everything Connie had been through with her parents and felt his own pain over what he went through with his mom’s bandmates and own father. He knew exactly what it was like to try and be what people wanted one to be and nobody won in that scenario. He didn’t want Connie to face what he did.

While Steven had told Connie about how he lost touch with the Gems for years despite some of their attempts to maintain contact, he didn’t tell her about the rough patch in his relationship with his dad. She did not know when Steven had first left home that he didn’t talk to Greg for months. Maybe it was because he was angry for the way he was raised or maybe it had been because he didn’t want to be associated with his parents and their legacy. He didn’t completely know and honestly didn’t think it mattered. He just knew he regretted it and maybe he wouldn’t have made so many bad decisions with women if he hadn’t cut out the only person he had for his whole life, even if only temporarily.

Steven’s heart ached at the idea of Connie having the same regret.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” Doug asked, pulling Steven from his own head.

“I told you,” Steven said, blushing and looking away, “I love her.”

Doug sighed as he looked over the young man who had no education and no sophistication. The young man whose job didn’t guarantee his daughter would be taken care of and who didn’t know anything about classical music. The young man who definitely ate trans fats and sugar and probably exercised less than Doug himself did. The young man that was nothing like what he had always hoped for his daughter. Yet the one she had picked anyway against his advice.

But Steven loved Connie. He thought highly of her and clearly respected her. Doug couldn’t have wanted much more than that out of any suitor for his only child.

So with a smile, he said, “I can see that. You’re a good man, Steven.”

Steven’s eyes went wide as he stared at the other man. The last thing expected from Doug after their argument was a compliment. “Uh, thank you. So are you.”

“I don’t know about that,” he chuckled weakly, “It seems like I could learn something from you.”

Steven blushed even redder after that. He got the feeling from the look on his face whatever he was feeling, the older man didn’t want to talk about. With a hard swallow, he glanced back at the shelf. He cleared his throat to get Doug’s attention and pointed at the structure they’d been assembling before. With an awkward smile he said, “Well, I’m still waiting for you to teach me about putting furniture together. Maybe we can finish that first.”

“I think that sounds like a very good idea,” the man agreed with a nod, “I think we’re just about done with it too.”

Steven grabbed the tools as Doug reached for the instructions. Despite how both men had ended up yelling they couldn’t help but feel like maybe some common ground had been found. They might be able to make something out of this relationship yet. There was still a lot to cover but at least it felt as if they had made a start. Something they each considered a small victory. 

As the two men continued to work, Connie finished up her tour of the tiny house by leading Priyanka around the master bedroom, through the back laundry room, and into their backyard. The Maheswaran women took their time at each place because Priyanka had questions at every single one. Not every question was about the house. Some had been about her clothes, some had been about framed flyers from Steven’s shows, a few had been about things she had already answered because goodness forbid her mother actually listen to her when she spoke, and one had been about her diet, weirdly enough.

Connie could at least say with confidence she had mostly not lied to her mother when pestered.

“The backyard is big,” Connie said as they walked around the fenced area. “Which is good in case we ever want to expand or build something. Mr. Universe bought the house and the land so it’s all in Steven’s name.”

“And how exactly do you plan to pay back,” Priyanka paused to register the strange last name, “Mr. Universe when you aren’t working.”

“I’m not _not_ working,” Connie argued, “I’ve written a couple of freelance articles and blog posts. I’ve even been featured on the Modern Feminist Movement. I can send you a link to the story if you want to read it. It’s about Max actually. I interviewed her about changing her career path so soon after getting her degree. Not many people say no to a scholarship to Harvard Law school for a small paid internship.”

“Do you really think Maxine is the example that young girls should be following?” her mother questioned with a sneer. “She gave up a secure future in a steady career and a half-covered tuition to law school so she could sit at a computer all day and take pictures of herself at concerts with boys in ripped jeans.”

“Her job is a little more complicated than that, mom,” Connie defended her best friend, trying not to be hurt over how little attention she gave to the fact that while she hadn’t been paid much for the piece she wrote, Connie was technically a real published, professional writer now. Even if it was just in a freelance market. She would have appreciated at least an acknowledgment from her mother about the accomplishment.

“But there is no job security,” Priyanka continued to rant, “Richard is always posting how proud he is of his little girl following in her dreams. It’s as if he doesn’t even understand that she all but set fire to the money he poured into her education for the last four years. Does he really believe that a job in the music industry is going to be sustainable? He shouldn’t be celebrating his child throwing away her investments in her future.”

“Maybe he is just happy she is doing something she loves and that she’s good at,” Connie said, not needing any help seeing this was not so much about Max and very much about Connie and the choice that she had made. It would have been obvious if Connie was blind, dumb, and deaf. “I know I’m happy for her. She’s really good at her job. Steven’s band is doing much better now that she runs most of their social media.”

“Yes, well as someone who has an actual job.” Priyanka crossed over her arms as she rolled her eyes at her daughter’s ridiculous statements, “How many teenage delinquents enjoy following your boyfriend’s silly little rock band online doesn’t strike me as a great barometer to measure success.”

That was it. That was all she could take. In one statement her mother had insulted her, the love of her life, and her best friend. Connie wasn’t going to let that stand.

“Considering as dad said “my boyfriend’s silly little rock band” is popular enough to tour in both the U.S. and the U.K. and thanks to Max “goofing around” and posting pictures on Instasnap,” Connie said with a bite to her words, “the band now has fifty thousand people following them on that platform alone which I might add, led to nearly sold-out shows every night overseas, I would actually call that a wonderful measure of just how successful both of them are.”

Priyanka gave her daughter an unamused stare after she finished. Connie’s face was flushed and her breathing was a little uneven. She honestly couldn’t stomach how her mother had been talking to her and about important people in her life since she got there. It made her feel sick enough to puke. While her father made an attempt at peace it had felt as if her mother only came to cut her down at every turn and undermine anything she said.

“I suppose we have different definitions of successful then,” the older Maheswaran woman replied. This did not improve Connie’s mood.

“Oh, do you think?” she snapped, “That wasn’t already glaringly obvious from basically the moment I could talk? Because I feel like someone wouldn’t need to be in the same room with us for twenty seconds to pick up on that. Thanks for making your disapproval of me and my life clear though. I appreciate knowing where I stand.”

“What does that mean?” her mother snapped back.

“Exactly what it sounds like it means,” she stopped herself from yelling, just barely, not wanting to disturb her neighbors, “You have done nothing but nit-pick and criticize me since you got here. No, actually, you’ve done nothing but nit-pick and criticize me for my whole life! I’ve never been good enough. I’m never going to be good enough! No matter what I do! Nothing about my life is right as far as you or dad cares! Not my career, not my house, not my friends or my boyfriend. Nothing! Why did you even come here?!”

“We came to see you,” her mother argued, “We miss you. We- I wanted to see you! Connie…”

Priyanka stared her daughter down, eye to eye as she took a deep breath. Connie crossed over her arms and waited to hear what her mother would say to her next. In hindsight, she should have known her mother’s motives before she spoke them out loud but in the moment all she felt at the words was shock.

“I want you to move back into your old room,” she explained, “I’m worried about you and I may have acted too quickly in telling you that you needed to end your trip early and that you should stay here. I can admit that was a hasty reaction and that wasn’t fair to you. I was… hurt. So was your father. We weren’t thinking. For that, I am sorry.”

“Oh,” Connie said, taken aback, “Well, I appreciate the apology mom.”

“I understand we need to talk and try to understand each other. I’m willing to communicate with you if you are but I can’t let you throw your future away because of a fight. I promise we’ll pull back and give you space. We’ll let you make your own decisions about your life and I’ll even try to be open-minded about… _him._ ” Priyanka gestured to the house behind them. “We want what’s best for you and I need to be able to step in if you need help. I can’t do that if we aren’t honest with one another and I also can’t do that from the other side of the country.”

For a moment Connie thought her mom might cry, “So, please, come back home.”

It was the way her mom said it that broke her heart. It wasn’t a demand or an order. She wasn’t yelling at her daughter. There were no inflections in her voice to suggest this was anything other than a plea or begging on her part. This wasn’t anything like months ago when her mom was speaking to her as if under the impression that she would be magically forced to do whatever her parents wanted so long as they commanded it in the correct way. However, this time her mother wasn’t telling her she had to do anything. She was just saying she wanted her daughter to go back to Beach City to live with her and Doug.

“Mom…”

Connie didn’t know what to say. Neither of her parents had ever offered her any compromise. Things had always been their way or no way. She had only ever made progress with them by working around the rules they set. Some part of her expected her father to try making peace but from her mother, this was completely new territory. Priyanka was offering to work with her and even try to understand her relationship.

Her relationship with Steven…

“I’m sorry,” she said, “But this is my home.”

The choice had been an easy one for her to make. She had been falling asleep and waking up with him every day since they left for England. They'd been almost inseparable that whole time. She had gotten used to the cup of coffee he brought her every morning in bed and sorting out their laundry together. She couldn’t imagine not hearing the strum of his guitar in the other room while she was writing. She wasn’t sure she remembered where her own pajamas were because she’d gotten so used to sleeping in his band t-shirts. She loved their little house and every piece of furniture he had both excitedly picked out and happily put together with her. Her heart hurt at just the idea of being so far from Steven after living with him for as long as she had been.

Connie was exactly where she wanted to be.

“But-” her mother began before Connie cut her off.

“Mom, I really appreciate you and dad wanting to work on things with me,” she said as gently as she could. “I love both of you. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt you and I know that I did. I want things to be okay with us. I want you in my life.”

Boldly, Connie took her mother’s hands in her own. Priyanka resisted for a moment then relaxed to let her daughter hold her hands, “But we both know it will be better for our relationship if I just stay here. There’s still so much baggage you and me and dad have to get through. Being under the same roof is going to make that harder. I need space right now to figure things out and so do you guys.”

Priyanka’s shoulders sagged in defeat. Deep down, she understood that her daughter was right.

“Besides,” Connie continued, “I want to be with Steven. I- I love him.”

Connie could tell by her mother’s sigh that she wanted to roll her eyes but thankfully she didn’t. The older woman had known this was exactly how this conversation was going to go. Doug had told her as much, warning her not to go through with it. However, she had, and just as expected Connie had refused. Her daughter was as stubborn as Priyanka herself at the worst of times. There was no changing her mind once it was made. She seemed more sure than she ever had.

Priyanka Maheswaran had no choice.

“Well, then,” she said, looking back at the house while holding her daughter’s hands, “It is a nice house. If small and a bit rustic. I hope you got homeowner’s insurance. The place has gone through an inspection too, right? And you installed a carbon monoxide detector? You need to make sure you remember to do that, not all states require them by law.”

“Yes," she groaned, "Steven's dad helped us make sure we had everything important taken care of.”

“Well, did you remember-”

“Mom,” she said, pulling the other woman in for a hug, “I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry.”

“That’s impossible,” Priyanka responded, returning the hug, “But I’ll try.”

The embrace was longer than Connie ever remembered being hugged by her parents which wasn’t saying much but was still enough to make her tear up. She didn’t want to cry in front of her mother though so she pulled back. When she did she saw Priyanka also wipe her eyes. They were more alike than either would like to admit. With tiny, sad smiles both women turned to face the house once again.

Priyanka cleared her throat, “We should probably check on your father and Steven. Who knows if they managed to get that shelf done.”

“I think we should consider it a success if they managed not to break it,” Connie responded. 

To her surprise, her mother laughed as they walked back inside together.

* * *

“Call me when you get back to your hotel,” Connie said to her parents as they stood at the front door a second time that day. This time to head out for the evening.

“Yes, yes, we will,” her dad assured, “Relax, sweetheart.”

“I just want to know when you get there safely. I’m worried that you might get lost.”

“Nonsense,” Doug insisted, waving her off, “I’m an excellent driver.”

Connie shared a look with Priyanka before the latter sighed. They both knew that was not true. However, rather than say anything, her mother simply looked past Connie to Steven. The man her daughter had chosen to stay with over the comfort of her parents’ home. Looking like it took great effort to do, she smiled at him.

“Thank you again for inviting us, Connie, Steven,” she said in what she hoped was a kind voice.

"Of course. You're both welcome anytime, Dr. Maheswaran," Steven said, trying to be careful with his words since his slip-up earlier with Doug.

“Goodbye, mom and dad,” Connie said as they left, hoping they didn't take Steven at his word on that statement. “I love you.”

“We love you, too,” Doug called back, “And goodnight, Steven. It was a pleasure to meet you, properly this time.”

“Same to you,” Steven replied, waving, “Goodnight, Mr. Maheswaran.”

The younger couple watched as the older one drove away in their rental car. Almost at the exact same time, their bodies sagged. While in the end, the visit had been mostly pleasant, it had also been one of the most stressful days either had to endure. As soon as the door was closed, they turned to head into the bedroom.

Steven didn't waste time unbuttoning his shirt, “So that wasn’t so bad, right?”

“Wrong!” Connie said, flopping down on their still unused bed, “It was pretty bad but we did make it through the night.”

“We did,” he laughed, shrugging off his dress shirt and pulling on a t-shirt, “And they aren’t mad at you anymore.”

“That’s true,” Connie said with a yawn in her voice. It was hitting her just how tired she was. “And they didn't… _hate_ you."

Steven grimaced at the possibility, "Yeah, this could have been a lot worse.”

“That's true.” She yawned again. She forgot how comfy the bed they bought was.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Steven teased as he sat on the end of the bed, “You ready to head back to my dad’s place?”

Connie looked over at Steven. He was the sweetest and most patient man on earth and she could not be more thankful to him for putting up with her parents' nonsense all day. It took all of her remaining energy but she lifted herself up enough to pull him into bed with her by his arm. He went with zero hesitation.

Once in bed with her, as if it was a natural thing, Steven cuddled up with Connie and held her close. She settled her head on his chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. He recognized this as the position Connie always put them in when she was ready to go to sleep. 

Sure enough, with an incredibly tired voice, Connie said, “Let’s stay here.”

“Really?” he asked, delighted and surprised, “You want to sleep here?”

“Yeah, I do,” she confirmed, tilting her head to look up at him, lovingly.

Steven could barely contain his happiness as he struggled to wiggle out of his jeans without disturbing her too much. He heard her giggle a few times as he did before they kicked back the blankets together to climb underneath them.

Snuggled up in their new bed inside their new house, Steven placed a kiss on Connie’s forehead before he whispered, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she whispered back barely able to talk through her sudden exhaustion, “Welcome home, Steven.”

“Welcome home, Connie.”

**Author's Note:**

> I think Steven and Connie are going to be just fine. Keep an eye out for the next Star Destroyers coming soon!
> 
> Feedback always Welcome!


End file.
